Drive-in movies were once popular in Back Mountain

In the 1950s, when any car worth its gasoline had tailfins and a two-tone paint job, drive-in theaters were all the rage.

The Back Mountain had its share of them, and an Aug. 22, 1954 article in the Sunday Independent announced the revamping of one at Harveys Lake:

"It was learned yesterday that plans are under way to resume outdoor movies at the Picnic Grounds Outdoor Theatre along the Noxen Road. Movie-goers will be treated to movies on a new cinemascope screen, according to reports."

CinemaScope, developed in 1953, was the genesis of the widescreen movie format; it helped fill theaters in the era when television was starting to take hold as an entertainment staple. The article continues:

"In addition, the outdoor theatre will be turned around with the new screen at the opposite end of the drive-in lot. It will be a down-hill view for outdoor moviegoers.

"This arrangement will follow the pattern of the Dallas Outdoor Theatre which is one of the finest outdoor movies of its kind in Northeastern Pennsylvania."

Besides the hugely popular 1940s-era Dallas Drive-In on Route 309 (on weekend nights police had to direct the traffic due to the crowds), there was also the Sandy Beach Drive-In at Harveys Lake. There was also a drive-in at Tunkhannock, the article noted.

Unfortunately, none of these theaters remain. The only one in the area still standing is the Garden in Hunlock Township which, I'm happy to report, is bouncing back after the devastating Tropical Storm Lee flood of September 2011.

More Mathers memories

The recent passing of Gary Mathers, a longtime Dallas school district teacher, school board member and Kingston Township supervisor, is a sad day for the community, which lost one of its biggest advocates for education - and a genuinely nice guy.

Former teacher John Joseph, who with his wife Suzanne started David's Coffee Shop in the Heights section of Wilkes-Barre to help autistic adults like their son, remembered Mathers as a highly supportive regular customer and generous guy. When special needs students would come in on field trips, if Mathers was there, he would pick up the entire tab, Josephs said.

I talked to board members Catherine Wega, Larry Schuler and Charlie Preece, all of whom were at one time colleagues of Mathers at the high school; Wega's children and Mathers' went to school together and were "like family," she said.

They remember Mathers as an active participant from the start of the Student Assistance Program in the 1980s, which performed interventions with students having problems.

Wega recalled how Mathers would be stationed at the high school entrance daily to personally greet every single student as they came in.

"He knew their names, he knew their dogs, he knew their cars," she said.

Preece said Mathers' word was his bond: if he gave his word to a colleague or a student, he kept it, no matter how difficult.

Schuler summed up what Mathers was all about: "His priority was kids."

Elizabeth Skrapits writes about the Back Mountain. She can be reached at eskrapits@citizensvoice.com.

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